DISCRIMINATION IN PUNISHMENT AND DETERRENCE EFFECTS

The objective of this paper is to investigate the optimal deterrence p olicy against criminals and their activities. We show that, contrary t o court records which reveal that unsuccessful criminals are less seve rely punished than their successful counterparts, the optimal deterren ce policy is ''reverse discrimination''. A risk averse criminal who kn ows that he faces a higher probability of being arrested and a more se vere punishment if he is unsuccessful in his criminal activity, will b e deterred to a greater degree than if a more moderate punishment is i mposed when the outcome is less successful. We believe that policy mak ers, courts, and law enforcement officers should consider this when ma king decisions about criminal apprehension and punishment.